Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

January 31 st

7:28 P.M.

This wasn't a date.

It wasn't.

Was it?

No.

That was crazy.

Just because Luis wanted to apologize for taking out his personal issues on her didn't mean he wanted to date her.

Okay, Cassie could maybe believe that he didn't actually hate her like she had assumed. But it was a stretch to believe he'd want to date her. A stretch even to go so far as to say he liked her.

Ambivalent toward her perhaps.

That was probably as much as she could hope for.

So, to that end, Cassie stamped down on the excitement that bubbled up inside her as Luis rounded his truck to come and open her door for her. He looked so good in the dark jeans and white shirt, and, wow, those arms of his were phenomenal. Who knew forearms were so sexy?

Certainly not her.

But they were. Boy, were they hot. So hot, in fact, that there was this weird throbbing between her legs. While she knew that it was arousal, Cassie had never experienced anything like this before.

Guess she wasn't broken after all.

It was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

Glancing down self-consciously at her outfit, Cassie wondered if she'd made the wrong choice. By the time she took a quick shower, dried her hair, added soft curls, and applied what little makeup she owned, nothing fancy just a little foundation, some lipstick, and mascara, there hadn't been much time left to choose what to wear.

Not that she really owned anything date-worthy anyway. She had work clothes and chill-out-at-home clothes because that was all she ever did. In the end, she'd settled on a pair of black knee-high boots, a black skirt that brushed the tops of her knees, and a pretty pastel pink sweater that matched the shade of lipstick she was wearing.

She looked okay, she guessed.

At least she hoped she did.

"Let's go, princess."

Taking Luis' offered hand, Cassie slid out of the seat, catching the way his eyes roamed appreciatively over her body.

That was attraction in his dark eyes, wasn't it?

It sure looked like it to her, but she wasn't sure if she was just seeing what she wanted to see rather than what was actually there.

"I'm starving," she said as he retained his grip on her hand and led her over to the restaurant's front door. Again, she tried not to read too much into it because she was already crushing hard and her poor little heart wouldn't survive being rejected she was sure of it.

"No wonder, you skipped lunch because you were hiding out in your room," he teased as he held the door open for her.

She giggled at his bluntness. "Yeah, I was. A little childish, but I don't do well with confrontation," she admitted.

"Picked up on that, princess," Luis said, eyes twinkling, and it was hard to resist leaning up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips against his. What would it be like to kiss him? Would it be soft and sweet, or all fire and passion?

Cassie didn't think Luis did anything by half, so she was guessing fire and passion all the way.

Maybe she stared at him a little too goofily as they were led to their table, but it was hard to take your eyes off a man who looked like Luis. She loved the way he held her hand, too, gentle and firm at the same time. And his thumb was sweeping almost absently across the inside of her wrist making her all … tingly … only that was a kind of silly word.

"What do you want to order, princess?" Luis asked once they were both seated.

"Pizza," she replied immediately. She didn't even need to look at the menu to decide that. What else did you order at an Italian restaurant? Okay, well, all Italian food was amazing, but pizza held a special place in her heart and always would.

Luis chuckled. "You seem pretty certain of that decision."

"When I was a little girl, occasionally we'd go out for pizza, and … it was the only time we ever did anything fun," she said sadly. It felt wrong to complain. She hadn't had a bad life, she'd had a mansion to live in, clothes to wear, enough food to eat, and the best tutors money could buy. There had been no abuse. She hadn't been hit or verbally assaulted, hadn't been emotionally or psychologically tortured. There just hadn't been any warmth or fun in her life. Still, that was nothing to complain about when so many other kids had it so much worse than she had.

"You weren't allowed to play with friends when you were a kid?" Luis asked.

Not answering was the smarter option. Saying too much was allowing herself to take the crush she'd already developed and turn it into something more.

Something that would wind up getting her hurt.

Still, her mouth opened of its own volition and words tumbled out. "I didn't have friends."

Luis froze, eyes growing wide. "No friends? None at all?"

"I was a child genius," she said quietly, refusing to allow old hurts to surface. "I didn't go to school, I had tutors. They came to the house, so I would have more time to spend studying without having to travel anywhere. Then I started college six weeks before my tenth birthday. Not many college kids want to be friends with a little kid."

"What about siblings?"

"None. My parents put too much effort into choosing egg and sperm donors for me, and when they got the genius baby they wanted, they put all their time into making sure I was properly educated."

"They're not your biological parents?"

"No. I mean, my mom gave birth to me, but no, they chose donors. Went through hundreds, screening carefully for IQ and other skills they wanted me to have."

"So, you never got to play as a kid? You studied all the time?" Luis looked both shocked and appalled by the thought, and Cassie felt her cheeks heat. People thought it was easy being so smart, but it wasn't. It was isolating in a way others couldn't really comprehend.

"All the time," she said, giving a self-conscious shrug.

"Damn, princess, that sucks. Kids should be out kicking a ball around, riding a bike, playing tag, having tea parties, or whatever other girlie things little girls like to do."

"My intellect was a gift that shouldn't be squandered on frivolous things," she said, parroting the words she'd heard almost every day when she was a small child and would ask to have free time to play.

Brow furrowed, Luis looked at her so seriously that she shivered, never before had she been the recipient of such intense scrutiny. When he reached over the table and took her hands in his, she shivered for a whole different reason. "Cassidy, listen to me and listen good. You are more than just your brain. You have a high IQ, that's awesome, and you do use it to make the world a better place. But you also have the right to do things just for you, just for fun."

"It's not the best use of my time," Cassie hedged. While deep down she believed the same thing, she'd never been completely sure it wasn't just a little rebellion.

Closing his eyes, Luis dragged in a slow breath, and she got the feeling he was composing himself. "The locked door is making more and more sense," he muttered. "I'm going to say this again, Cass, because I don't think you were listening clearly the first time. You are a sweet woman, beautiful, young, you have your whole life before you. Don't let it pass you by because you're too busy doing what you think you have to do."

He sounded so sincere, and he'd called her beautiful, her heart did this funny little leap in her chest.

Was it possible that maybe he was attracted to her after all?

Did she actually have a shot with him?

Did she want to have a shot with him?

Did she want to waste her entire life following the path her parents had so carefully crafted for her and miss out on the things that she wanted?

Could she have both? Use her brain to make a difference in the world and still find time to be her own person and do the things that made her happy at the same time?

Could Luis make her happy? He definitely made her feel things she'd never felt before. He was the first man she'd ever been attracted to, and the first crush she'd ever had, it was possible something real and meaningful could develop between them.

Just as she was about to open her mouth and risk embarrassment to tell him that she was attracted to him, a woman came sashaying up toward their table. She was dressed in a skimpy, skin-tight red dress and heels that Cassie was sure she'd break an ankle with if she tried wearing them. Long blonde hair tumbled down the woman's back, and she had on more makeup than Cassie would feel comfortable wearing.

The woman was everything she wasn't.

Gorgeous, confident, the kind that turned men's heads wherever she went.

In fact, she was turning Luis' head right now.

And as she saw the appreciative look on his face, like he was starving and this woman was the most delicious meal, any hope she'd felt that maybe a man like him could fall for a woman like her flew out the window.

January 31 st

7:42 P.M.

"Hey, handsome."

The drawled voice managed to pry Luis' attention away from the woman sitting across the table from him.

A woman who had allowed herself to be completely vulnerable with him and admitted what had to be some deep truths. Truths he was pretty sure she didn't go around sharing with just anybody.

The more time he spent around Cassie, the more he realized that his initial assumptions about her couldn't be more wrong. Despite her genius level IQ, she was sweet and sheltered, innocent, with a big heart and a whole lot of misguided ideas about herself and how she ought to live her life that he now knew came courtesy of the people who had raised her.

Although he used the term raised loosely.

Seemed like they thought their child had come out of the womb already an adult and treated her as such.

"Luis."

Irritated at being interrupted on his night out with Cassie, when he'd finally managed to yank her out of work mode and get her to relax at least a little, he turned to face the woman standing beside him.

As usual, Violet was dressed to seduce, wearing a bright red dress that left little to the imagination and red lipstick that was meant to be smeared with searing hot kisses. Usually, the sight of her was enough to have him blowing off any plans he might have had for the evening and taking her home to his bed.

But for some reason, not tonight.

He'd known Violet for over a decade now. They'd met when he was fresh out of BUD/s, full of that swagger and confidence only a new SEAL could understand. A couple of years older than him, Violet had oozed sexy sophistication and he'd been hooked from that first night.

Over the years they'd hooked back up plenty of times. It was never serious, he never did that, and even though she'd been married twice in the last ten years, Violet was never all about being serious with a man either. Their casual relationship was perfect for both of them, and while he hadn't been expecting to see her tonight, if it had been any other night and he'd been with any other woman, he would have jumped at the chance to spend a couple of hours in bed with the vixen who was up for anything that involved a good time.

"Violet," he said with a nod. Sensing Cassie's discomfort and wanting to soothe it, he introduced her. "This is Cassidy."

Barely flicking a glance Cassie's way, Violet kept her attention focused firmly on him. The pouty smile was one he recognized, and the flame of desire in her sparkling blue eyes was one he was usually more than ready to douse with hours of sexy playtime.

But not tonight.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Luis?" she purred, placing her hands on his pecs and tracing lightly with her fingertips.

"I'm busy, Violet," he said, irritation bleeding into his tone. Had she always been this brazen? Granted, he never usually took women out to dinner, or at least not to a nice place like this cozy, romantic little Italian restaurant, but still, it was pretty obvious that he was there with someone. Was she really going to proposition him anyway?

"It's important," Violet insisted, a small whine in her tone that was the opposite of how he usually pictured her. Confidence may as well have been Violet's middle name. She knew she was stunning, knew she was most men's fantasy come to life, and played up to that image every chance she got. Accustomed to getting her own way, it seemed when she was challenged or denied a little of her veneer chipped away.

Just as he was about to reiterate that now wasn't the time, Cassie pushed away from the table. "It's fine, I was about to excuse myself anyway," she mumbled before hurrying off in the direction of the bathroom.

Luis watched her go. While her skirt reached down to her knees and didn't hug her slim curves, it looked gorgeous on her. The pastel pink sweater was absolutely a shade that suited her and her coloring, and he loved that she'd matched it to her lipstick. It didn't mold to her body, but it looked soft and practically begged to be slipped off to reveal the inches of creamy skin it hid.

"Don't tell me she's what you're staring at right now," Violet scoffed.

The tone brought roaring to life a deep protective instinct he'd only ever felt toward the little brother he'd almost gotten killed. Luis whipped his attention back to the woman in red and seared her with a burning glare. "Leave her out of this, Vi."

Clearly taken aback by the vehemence in his voice, Violet quickly recovered. "She's not in anything here, Luis. I just saw you here and thought maybe you'd like to take me home tonight."

Shifting closer so she was practically sitting in his lap, she let her hands drift down toward his crotch, and for a moment, Luis wondered if maybe he should take the woman up on her offer.

Things with Cassie were becoming … cloudy. No longer as clear as they'd been when he had agreed to watch over her. Back then, he'd merely been attracted to her as a single, red-blooded man was to a beautiful woman. But now … now he was beginning to realize that she was stirring up feelings in him he'd determined never to feel for another person.

Whatever he was feeling, though, it was wrong to touch Cassie the way he wanted to.

She was the personification of innocence, and the more time he spent with her, the more he realized that those pictures he'd found and the stories she was writing were more imagination than a secret wild side.

In fact, he was beginning to wonder just how much experience she even had when it came to men.

"I'm not going home with you tonight, Violet," he said firmly. No matter how much a round of hot sex would clear his mind and stop him from doing something he shouldn't with Cassie, it felt like it would be a betrayal to the sweet woman he'd brought out to dinner tonight. There was nothing between them, they weren't together, and it couldn't in any way be considered cheating, and yet … it felt wrong.

Looking over her shoulder at the bathroom where Cassie had fled because she avoided confrontation of any sort like it was the plague, Violet sneered. "Don't tell me it's because of her . She's all wrong for you, Luis. She can't give you what you need, what you crave."

Protectiveness surged again. "I told you to leave her out of it."

"So, it's like that, is it?" Violet scoffed. "You and the little virgin. Who would have guessed you'd fall for a woman like that."

Virgin?

Was it possible Cassie wasn't just inexperienced but completely lacking in any experience whatsoever?

Luis groaned internally. Trust him to find a woman the complete opposite of himself.

Before he could clarify that there was nothing between him and Cassie, even if that did feel like it wasn't the whole truth, Cassie re-emerged from the bathroom. Even from across the room, he could see that her eyes were red and puffy.

Had she been crying?

Noticing his attention shift, Violet followed his line of sight, and then leaned in even closer, touching her lips to his neck.

Having enough of her brazen attempts to get what she wanted even after he'd told her no several times, Luis roughly shoved her off him, pushing her to her feet and then moving his chair back. "I said no, Violet. I came with Cassie and I'm leaving with her."

With that, he strode across the room toward the only woman whose attention he was interested in tonight. Interested in a way that had nothing to do with sharing a bed.

"It's okay, Luis. I understand," Cassie mumbled, although he had no idea how she could understand things he was having trouble figuring out himself.

"You ready to order your pizza?" he asked.

Big, doe eyes whipped up to meet his. "I thought you were leaving. With her," she added, glancing over his shoulder where he was sure a pouting Violet wasn't taking his rejection well.

"Never said that, princess."

"But I thought … aren't you two … together?" she stammered, uncertainty evident in her red-rimmed eyes.

"We've hooked up in the past yes," he confirmed, hating the wince Cassie gave and her air of defeat, like she believed she could never measure up to a woman like Violet.

But she was wrong.

She had something Violet could never have. She had a sweet personality, she had a good heart, and she had drive and dedication. She was more than a pretty package, she was the whole package. Looks, personality, and brains. The trifecta. Cassie just didn't see it because she was all hung up on that nonsense her parents had drilled into her when she was a child. That all she had to offer the world was her intellect. And it seemed he had decided he needed to be the one to help her see that she had so much more to offer than that. So much more she deserved to get out of her life than working all the time.

"Hey." Hooking a finger under her chin he nudged until she met his gaze. "She's not the woman I brought here tonight, and she's not the one I'm going to be taking home after dinner."

A flicker of arousal in Cassie's brown eyes doused out some of the uncertainty and he realized he'd made it sound like there was going to be something between them when he took her home later.

Bad idea or not, Luis found he had no desire to clarify things or take his words back.

Cassie was inching her way inside his impenetrable heart, and in this moment, he had no desire to fortify those walls and keep her out.